Therapist testifies nanny wasn't suicidal or murderous

Updated 10:00 pm, Thursday, March 8, 2018

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York City nanny who fatally stabbed two children appeared to dispute a therapist's testimony in her murder trial in which her lawyers argue she is too mentally ill to be responsible for the 2012 killings.

Therapist Thomas Caffrey testified Thursday at the trial of Yoselyn Ortega that he saw the nanny once, three days before the killings. He said Ortega had anxiety and depression, but no suicidal or murderous thoughts.

"She didn't tell me about any concerns about voices or visions," said Caffrey, a therapist in Manhattan for nearly 40 years. "She impressed me as a worried, anxious, frightened person."

When Caffrey described Ortega obsessing about her teenage son who had recently come to New York from the Dominican Republic, Ortega shook her head, pursed her lips and told her lawyer: "No, no."

Ortega's lawyer, Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg, questioned Caffrey's evaluation, noting that he failed to ask her questions about her medical history.

"It wasn't that kind of evaluation," Caffrey said. "It was the beginning of a therapy deal."

Ortega has pleaded not guilty in the deaths of 2-year-old Leo Krim and 6-year-old Lucia Krim on Oct. 25, 2012.

Prosecutors said Ortega planned the killings, waiting until she was alone in the apartment. She selected two knives from the kitchen and then killed Leo, who suffered five wounds, and Lucia, who fought back and was slashed and stabbed about 30 times, prosecutors said.

Jurors were shown photographs this week of the blood-splattered scene taken seven hours after the children's mother found their bodies.